Reviews:
Kitrazzle Fayn: Thanks for the review and the compliments. And the chapters will be coming out faster from now on. We're working on the fourth as your reading. It's just that KittKatt001 is in France right now, and there's a horrible time difference. I know that sounds like an excuse, and it probably is one, but just so you know why it took so long. But it won't again. Promise. Cross our hearts and hope to die.
Nuit: Watch for her! She's in this chappie!
Jess: Thanks for the advice! We took it! Here's a cookie!
To everybody else: Thanks for the reviews! We appreciate them!
"You've got to be kidding me." Jean said, staring at the outfit John was handing her. "Please tell me you're kidding." John just grinned.
~~~
Jean was wearing a short white skirt, a nurse's hat, and a completely sheer shirt with crosses over her breasts. "I am not going out in public wearing this!"
"Ya look nice Red." John said.
"I look like a hooker!" she snapped.
"Y' say that like it's a bad thing." Remy told her. He backed up quickly as she glared at him. "Kidding, Kidding. Merde Jeannie, can't y' take a joke?" he held his hands up in front of him.
Scott stuck his head in.
"Hey Remy-" his eyes bulged out. "Whoa! Jean, what are you wearing?"
Jean grabbed John's coat and slipped it on over top of her outfit. "It was all his idea." She said, pointing at John.
"You look, uhh, nice." Scott said. "Excuse me, I have to go." And he ducked out the door. Remy had a positively evil smile on his face.
"Time t' start Jeannie."
Jean leaned over and whispered something in the man's ear. He was so intoxicated by both her perfume and the alcohol that he didn't notice her slip off his security tag. She headed towards the door and John, who was waiting at the car.
"Here." She said.
"I'll be back with it in an hour." He promised. "Thanks Jean."
"Wait- you want me to stay here with him for another hour?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah."
Jean trudged in the door, still wearing the outfit that John had somehow procured for her, and steaming.
"Do you know how many guys tried to hit on me, steal a kiss, or try to convince me to come up to their room?" she demanded of Remy. "That is the last time I ever help you out if it doesn't involve computers."
"Well den Jeannie, y'll be p'rfectly happy, 'cause you don't need to leave the hotel room any more. But only b'cause y' can't actually install y'r bug y'rself, as the guards have already met you." Jean shrugged. "Well, that's not my fault. You could have had Amara do it."
"Ah, but de fille have a temper. B'sides, y'r good at it."
She raised her eyebrows. "I'm going to take that as a compliment, because if I didn't, I'd have to hurt you." Remy just grinned.
"Go change b'fore y' give anyone a nose bleed." He suggested. She blushed.
~~~
Kurt was carrying a bunch of balloons into the casino, courtesy of John. Approaching the camera, he purposefully "bumped" into one of Jamie's disguised clones, one of the many who had been scooping out the casino.
"Hey, watch where you're going pal!"
"Who're you calling pal, buddy?" Kurt growled.
"Who're you calling buddy, jackass?" the clone demanded.
"Don't call me a jackass!" Kurt gently pushed the clone so he wouldn't multiply, while still making it look like a hard shove.
"I just did call you a jackass!" A security guard quickly came over and tried to break the two of them up, therefore never noticing Scott, without his inducer, slip into the technician's entrance. He followed the map and ended up in the control room. Following the instructions Jean had given him earlier, he found the right wire after a few tries and attached their GPS piggyback device. Jean and Remy, watching from the hotel room, breathed a sigh of relief as the screens came on, displaying all the security monitors. Scott quickly headed back the way he came, forgetting the device there. He reached the intersection and realised his map was smudged. He turned a random way before Jean's voice echoed in his head. *No Scott! To the left, not the right!* he quickly changed his direction. Remy sighed in relief. There was one more minor incident where Scott almost had a heart attack when another casino personnel ran up with the GPS, but managed to make it back alive, intact and undetected.
Meanwhile, on Kurt's end of things…
"Look, I have a very important client waiting for these balloons."
"Ha! You're a balloon boy!" Jamie's clone crowed.
"Break it up before I escort you from the premises." The guard said stiffly.
"Fine, fine. I've had enough trouble without getting involved with you two animals." Kurt grumbled, grabbing the string of balloons, while they bobbed merrily behind him as he made a dignified retreat from the casino. After all, his current job was done.
~~~
Wanda and Remy were sitting in the suite's living room as they had some tailors in to adjust Scott's suit to fit. Wanda leaned over to him.
"Is he okay to do this?"
"We find out in a minute, chére." He told her. He shooed the tailors out and walked up to Scott.
"Y' up to dis, mon ami?"
Scott glared at him. "You ask me that question again Gumbo, you won't wake up the following morning."
"He's ready." Remy told Wanda, grinning despite the death threat.
~~~
My name is Lyman Zerga. My name is Lyman Zerga. Scott practised in his head. Man, why do I have to be some old fart while everybody else get to look like themselves? Remy must have something against me. Scott turned to Kitty and Kurt, who were carrying his luggage. Well, there are some perks. He decided as he waved them to follow him as he stepped into the elevator that would take him to his room. He realised something and grinned evilly. The mini-bar. Scott could just picture the look on Pietro's face when he realised that Zerga had a few thousand dollars in unpaid fees when the job was done.
~~~
Amara watched as Evan and Jean, as well as Tabby, worked on the layouts of the Bellagio's vault. Jean had been in charge of getting a readable map for all of them to base the design off of. She had offered to help, but Jean declined, saying that she should study the blueprints herself in order to plan a way to get from the center of the room to the door without touching the floor. It seemed simple enough, but she had learned long ago not to overestimate herself. Well, after a few incidents. She hadn't really meant to climb the high wire when she was seven and try to get across, only avoiding serious injury because her best friend had been watching and was able to catch her. Okay, so she had, but it was all in the past? And what better way to learn than from mistakes you yourself have made? She sighed and turned back to the blueprints.
~~~
Jamie watched as Scott, Kitty and Kurt passed him. He placed his newspaper down as well as his coffee cup, seeing Pietro enter. He rose quickly, glad to have the wig and glasses on. His clones were reporting to him even now- he did have a useful power, as he could keep in contact with all of them, all the time. Only problem was finding enough different disguises without making them obvious. He sighed again since getting this assignment. Sure, he got to relax- sort of, while everyone was working, but he'd rather have a more challenging role in the whole operation. How was spying on Pietro going to help him at all? It was baby stuff. This wasn't going to help him get out of his father's "shadow". Had Remy been lying about that particular bit? He quickly decided against it. Remy knew how it felt, as he had been living in Jean-Luc's until he passed away about five years ago. Jamie saw Pietro's elevator coming down and realised he was late to his meeting with John.
~~~
Jamie managed to arrive at the meeting point just thirty seconds before John arrived. John sank into the chair beside him, looking like he was about to get a headache. Then John blinked, and he was fine. He leant back in the chair and cast an uninterested look in Pietro's direction. "Tell me about him." He asked Jamie
"The guy's a machine." Jamie said. "He gets here at two thirty p.m. sharp, everyday. Same car, same driver. Says hello to everyone on the way in. Knows all their names and asks about kids if they've got them. Not bad for a guy worth three-quarters of a billion dollars. Spends most of the day up there, comes down at seven to talk to his manager. It's always strictly business, and then Pietro goes and glad-hands all the high rollers. He knows Spanish, German, Italian and he's taking Japanese lessons. He's getting pretty good. Then he goes out to the car and gets a black portfolio, containing the day's take and new security codes. Two minutes after they're changed; he's got them in his hands." He paused. "Are you sure about this? Did you hear about the last guy they caught cheating here? They put him away for ten years, had the bank seize his house, and bankrupted-"
"His brother in law's tractor company." John finished.
"The guy doesn't just go after you. He goes after your lively hood and the lively hood of anyone you've ever met."
"You scared?"
"You suicidal?" Jamie countered.
"Only in the morning." John replied, not managing to keep a straight face.
Jamie glanced at his watch and grinned. "Now it's the best part of my day." He said. "His girl comes down from the museum upstairs."
~~~
She was talking to one of the benefactors of the museum about a new piece he had just delivered when Pietro entered. He stayed back for a few minutes, just watching her. Her eyes lit up at the mention of her work, the sparkle lighting up him as well. She was a beautiful specimen, that he had to admit. Her hair was a lovely auburn, except for her bangs, which were an ethereal white and made her face more angelic. She was a refreshing breath of fresh air after a day filled with stuffy numbers and haughty people who thought they were better than everyone else was because they were winning. He moved forward as the benefactor left, standing beside her silently. She turned slightly so that she could see him better.
"Ya lahke it?" she asked the man beside her.
"I like it if you like it." He replied, a faint smile appearing on his lips. The girl smiled at him, and moved closer to Pietro. He took a step back, an ironic grin twisting his features. "On my hotel, someone's always watching." He said, pointing at the corner, where a security camera rested. She stepped back reluctantly. "Seven thirty?" he asked. She nodded, a smile once again appearing on her lips.
"See ya then sugah." She said as he left as silently and suddenly as he had appeared.
~~~
"Who's the girl?" John asked.
"Dunno. Never caught her name. She does have the most amazing hair though. I swear it's natural but I've never seen anyone with those colours before."
John's stomach started to sink.
"Here she comes." Jamie said, staring up the stairs. John's gaze followed his. The woman was wearing an amazing red dress, managing to carry off the sexy/innocent look perfectly. It was a modest cut, showing off just enough of her chest, with a flared bottom, one end at her knees and the other at her ankle. There was a delicate chain around her neck, showing off a red rose charm. Her eyes sparkled in the light, making it seem like they were two precious stones. Her hair was swept up in an elegant ponytail, leaving the bangs to frame her face. John froze and quickly turned away before she recognised him. Oh shit, it's-
"Marie…" he didn't even notice he said it out loud until Jamie turned to him after Marie passed.
"What did you say?"
"Marie. Her name is Marie."